Restoration of a tooth can either be direct or indirect. Direct restoration involves the reconstruction of a large volume of lost tooth structure using a dental restorative material. Indirect restoration involves the placement of an onlay or crown manufactured outside the mouth from a virtual or physical model of the affected tooth. Traditionally, metal crowns have been made using gold and stainless steel. Currently, ceramic and composite crowns are also produced.
Tooth restoration using a crown is offered when the affected tooth is severely damaged, but requires the patient to visit the dentist at least twice. During the first visit, the dentist takes an impression of the missing or damaged tooth and sends it to a dental lab where the lab prepares a custom crown. The custom crown is fitted by the dentist during the patient's second visit. This procedure is both expensive and time consuming.
An alternate procedure offered is the complex MODBL (Mesial, Occlusal, Distal, Buccal, Lingual) direct restoration. This procedure is less expensive than a custom crown restoration and only requires one visit to the dentist. The procedure requires the missing and/or damaged portion of the tooth to be reconstructed with a dental restorative material such as dental composite, amalgam, gold foil or glass ionomer cements. In a majority of the cases, a complex composite restoration is not a long-term solution and will eventually require the patient to revisit the dentist for repair or replacement.
Currently, dentists are unable to offer a procedure to patients that is less expensive than a custom crown but stronger than a complex composite restoration. The dental restorative device described herein provides a solution to overcome the current drawback and other drawbacks of current devices and methods of restoration not expressly referred to herein.